Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
William Richard "Billy" Wilkerson (September 29, 1890 – September 2, 1962) was the founder of The Hollywood Reporter, [1] a real estate developer in Las Vegas and owner of such nightclubs as Ciro's. His series of columns known as "Billy's List" helped to initiate the red scare that led to the Hollywood blacklist. Wilkerson "discovered" Lana ...
The Flamingo includes a 72,299 sq ft (6,716.8 m 2) casino and a 28-story hotel with 3,460 rooms. The resort was originally proposed by Billy Wilkerson, founder of The Hollywood Reporter, who purchased the land in 1945. Early the following year, he partnered with a trio of mobsters to obtain financing.
In 1944 Charles P. Squires sold the land parcel that would ultimately become the Flamingo Las Vegas built by Billy Wilkerson and Bugsy Siegel [5] which is commonly referred to as the first resort on the Las Vegas Strip, although both the El Rancho Vegas and the New Frontier Hotel and Casino were in operation prior to the Flamingo's opening in 1945.
The Flamingo opened up the possibilities of what a Las Vegas casino could be. It also opened up the gates of the city to the Mob. An aerial view of the newly completed Flamingo hotel complex, Las ...
Flamingo founder Billy Wilkerson named the Flamingo, long before Benjamin Siegel got involved. Urban legend has it wrong that Siegel named the Flamingo Las Vegas resort after Hill, who liked to gamble and whose nickname was supposedly "Flamingo", a moniker that Siegel was said to have given her, referring to her long, thin legs, [ 7 ] but ...
Ciro's (later known as Ciro's Le Disc) was a nightclub on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California owned by William Wilkerson. [1] Opened in 1940, Ciro's became a popular nightspot for celebrities. The nightclub closed in 1960 and was reopened as a rock club in 1965. After a few name changes, it eventually became The Comedy Store in 1972.
Wilkerson was eventually coerced into selling all stakes in the Flamingo under the threat of death, and he went into hiding in Paris for a time. [81] From this point the Flamingo became syndicate-run. [82] By October 1946, the Flamingo's costs were above $4 million. [83] By 1947, the costs were over $6 M (equivalent to $72 M in 2023). [84]
For premium support please call: 800-290-4726 more ways to reach us